Parnassus Investments LLC Sells 67,068 Shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation $WRB

Key Points

• Parnassus Investments LLC reduced its W.R. Berkley stake by 7.8% in the fourth quarter, selling 67,068 shares and leaving it with 793,698 shares valued at about $55.7 million.
• The company’s recent operating results were solid: W.R. Berkley reported $1.30 EPS and $3.69 billion in quarterly revenue, both above analyst expectations, while also posting a strong return on equity of 18.92%.
• W.R. Berkley recently raised its quarterly dividend to $0.10 per share from $0.09 and extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility, moves that support financial flexibility and shareholder returns.

Parnassus Investments LLC lessened its stake in shares of W.R. Berkley Corporation (NYSE:WRB - Free Report) by 7.8% in the 4th quarter, according to its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The firm owned 793,698 shares of the insurance provider's stock after selling 67,068 shares during the period. Parnassus Investments LLC owned 0.21% of W.R. Berkley worth $55,654,000 as of its most recent SEC filing.

Several other hedge funds have also bought and sold shares of the stock. Stance Capital LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 376.1% in the third quarter. Stance Capital LLC now owns 48,119 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $3,687,000 after acquiring an additional 38,013 shares in the last quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 30.9% in the third quarter. Eagle Rock Investment Company LLC now owns 100,056 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $7,666,000 after acquiring an additional 23,605 shares in the last quarter. Generali Asset Management SPA SGR purchased a new position in shares of W.R. Berkley in the fourth quarter valued at about $1,630,000. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 682.2% in the third quarter. Empirical Financial Services LLC d.b.a. Empirical Wealth Management now owns 24,985 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $1,914,000 after acquiring an additional 21,791 shares in the last quarter. Finally, Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. lifted its position in shares of W.R. Berkley by 105.4% in the fourth quarter. Citadel Investment Advisory Inc. now owns 29,693 shares of the insurance provider's stock valued at $2,082,000 after acquiring an additional 15,240 shares in the last quarter. Institutional investors own 68.82% of the company's stock.

More W.R. Berkley News

Here are the key news stories impacting W.R. Berkley this week:

• Positive Sentiment: W.R. Berkley extended the maturity of its revolving credit facility, which helps preserve financial flexibility and reduces near-term refinancing risk. W. R. Berkley Extends Revolving Credit Facility Maturity
• Positive Sentiment: The company named Kirk A. Parker president of Berkley North Pacific, suggesting continuity in leadership and ongoing execution across its insurance operations. W. R. Berkley Corporation Names Kirk A. Parker President of Berkley North Pacific
• Positive Sentiment: Several recent market articles describe WRB as a strong momentum stock and discuss its valuation after recent share-price strength, which may be helping investor sentiment. W.R. Berkley (WRB) is a Top-Ranked Momentum Stock: Should You Buy?
• Neutral Sentiment: Articles comparing W. R. Berkley’s first-quarter results with other property and casualty insurers appear to be informational rather than clearly stock-moving. Property & casualty insurance stocks Q1 teardown: W R Berkley NYSE: WRB vs the rest
• Neutral Sentiment: Coverage assessing WRB’s valuation and pricing signals suggests the stock may be fairly nuanced at current levels, but it does not point to a clear catalyst by itself. Assessing W. R. Berkley (WRB) Valuation After Recent Share Price Strength And Mixed Pricing Signals
• Negative Sentiment: The death of founder William R. Berkley is a sentiment headwind, and investors may worry about the longer-term implications of losing the company’s longtime visionary leader. American entrepreneur W.R. Berkley has died
• Negative Sentiment: The company also announced a broader leadership transition after the founder’s passing, which can create uncertainty even if the succession plan is orderly. W. R. Berkley Announces Leadership Transition After Founder’s Passing

W.R. Berkley Price Performance

NYSE:WRB opened at $67.42 on Friday. The company has a current ratio of 0.36, a quick ratio of 0.36 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.29. The company has a market capitalization of $25.10 billion, a P/E ratio of 14.28, a P/E/G ratio of 3.22 and a beta of 0.30. W.R. Berkley Corporation has a 12 month low of $62.87 and a 12 month high of $78.96. The business's 50-day moving average is $66.55 and its 200 day moving average is $68.52.

W.R. Berkley (NYSE:WRB - Get Free Report) last posted its earnings results on Tuesday, April 21st. The insurance provider reported $1.30 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.13 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.69 billion for the quarter, compared to the consensus estimate of $3.18 billion. W.R. Berkley had a return on equity of 18.92% and a net margin of 12.64%.The firm's revenue for the quarter was up 1.3% on a year-over-year basis. During the same period in the previous year, the business earned $1.01 earnings per share. On average, equities research analysts forecast that W.R. Berkley Corporation will post 4.67 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

W.R. Berkley Increases Dividend

The company also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Thursday, July 2nd. Investors of record on Tuesday, June 23rd will be given a $0.10 dividend. This is an increase from W.R. Berkley's previous quarterly dividend of $0.09. This represents a $0.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 0.6%. The ex-dividend date is Tuesday, June 23rd. W.R. Berkley's dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 7.63%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

WRB has been the topic of several research analyst reports. Bank of America lowered their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $68.00 to $67.00 and set a "neutral" rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, April 14th. BMO Capital Markets upgraded W.R. Berkley from an "underperform" rating to a "market perform" rating and boosted their price objective for the company from $64.00 to $68.00 in a research report on Thursday, April 23rd. Evercore restated an "underperform" rating on shares of W.R. Berkley in a research report on Monday, March 9th. Weiss Ratings downgraded W.R. Berkley from a "buy (b)" rating to a "buy (b-)" rating in a research report on Wednesday, May 20th. Finally, Morgan Stanley lowered their price objective on W.R. Berkley from $73.00 to $72.00 and set an "equal weight" rating on the stock in a research report on Monday, April 6th. Three investment analysts have rated the stock with a Buy rating, eleven have issued a Hold rating and four have issued a Sell rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of "Reduce" and a consensus price target of $68.44.

W.R. Berkley Profile

W. R. Berkley Corporation NYSE: WRB is a publicly traded insurance holding company that underwrites and sells commercial property and casualty insurance, specialty insurance products, and reinsurance. Headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut, the company operates a portfolio of underwriting businesses that focus on niche and specialty commercial risks, offering coverage tailored to industries such as transportation, construction, professional services and other commercial lines.

The company's product mix includes primary and excess casualty, property, professional liability, environmental and other specialty lines, together with treaty and facultative reinsurance solutions.

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